A lobbyist who worked for a nursing home operator recently pardoned by President Donald Trump has been arrested and charged with attempted extortion in New York. Joshua Nass, 34, from Charleston, South Carolina, appeared before a magistrate judge in Brooklyn on Saturday after the charge was unsealed the previous day, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. He was released on a $5 million bond and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Court documents allege that from January onwards, Nass recruited and paid a confidential witness to force a former client and intimidate his son into paying $500,000, which Nass claimed was owed for his services. The father and son are identified only as “John Doe 1” and “John Doe 2”. The FBI said Nass “chose to shake him down by hiring an enforcer to extort payment”.
A federal lobbying disclosure form dated 15 January and signed by Nass listed Joseph Schwartz as a client. The form said Nass’s firm generated an estimated $100,000 in income for lobbying activities in the final quarter of 2025, with “federal presidential pardon advocacy” among its issues. Trump pardoned Schwartz in November 2025 after he pleaded guilty to a $38 million employment tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes he owned across the US.
According to court documents, Nass agreed in December to provide lobbying services to the client, who signed a $600,000 agreement. The son made a $100,000 payment but sought a payment plan for the balance, which Nass viewed as an “insult”. Between January and March, Nass and the witness discussed ways to extract payment, including assaulting the son or forcing him into a car with masked men. Nass told the witness not to “behave like a human being with” the son, an FBI affidavit said.
Nass was arrested outside his New York hotel on Friday, the same day he had expected to meet the witness. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office declined to say whether the allegations were linked to Schwartz.
